ISIS seen ‘regrouping’ in Libya in town near Tunisian border

The continuing chaos in Libya is enabling Islamic State (ISIL) to “regroup” and renew its recruiting efforts in the Maghreb, analysts say.

Reports have said the terror organization recently moved its Libyan base to the town of Sabratha, 60 miles from the Tunisian border.

“The majority of their fighting force comes from Tunisia, so Sabratha is also a growing center,” terrorism analyst Robert Young Pelton told Fox News.

“ISIS in Libya can regenerate quickly.”

After losing its Libyan stronghold of Sirte late last year, the number of ISIS jihadists in the country was said to have fallen below 200, according to the Pentagon.

A spokesman for U.S. Africa Command told Fox News that number currently is around 500.

Col. Ahmed Almesmari, spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), however, said ISIS’s numbers are far larger – around “five to seven thousand people of different nationalities.”

“ISIS is a transnational franchise that comes with funding, trainers and PR packages,” Pelton noted. “They seek out groups who will re-brand themselves and project the image of an international organization by standardizing logos, messaging and even design criteria for tweets and videos.”